Ready, Set, Slam: 10 UC Merced Scholars Battle for Champion Title

Ten UC Merced graduate researchers are gearing up to deliver the most intense three minutes of their academic careers.

Each spring, master’s and Ph.D. students across the campus’s three schools are invited to participate in Grad Slam — a fast‑paced competition that challenges scholars to distill their cutting‑edge research into a crisp, engaging presentation for a general audience.

In February, participants submitted their prequalification video presentations. Faculty and staff judges narrowed it down to 10 finalists for this year’s showdown, listed in alphabetical order:

• Zahra Alitaneh, Quantitative and Systems Biology

• Alberto Alves, Mechanical Engineering

• Alex Hartzler, Mechanical Engineering

• Harleen Kaur, Chemistry and Biochemistry

• Zoe Loh, Management of Complex Systems

• Sarah Malone, Applied Mathematics

• Zachary Malone, Environmental Systems

• Emmanuel Rabago Moreno, Mechanical Engineering

• Andrew Silverstein, Environmental Systems

• Tahirah Williams, Quantitative and Systems Biology

This year’s competition will take place at 3 p.m. March 11 in the Dr. Vikram and Priya Lakireddy Grand Ballroom inside the Conference Center and all are welcome. Doors open at 2:30 p.m. Those who can’t attend in person may watch live via Zoom. There is no need to pre-register.

The annual competition offers some great prizes. The campus champion will receive $5,000 and compete at the UC systemwide Grad Slam event April 22 in Sacramento. The second-place winner will receive $2,000 and third place receives $1,000. The remaining seven finalists will each receive $250.